AROUND THE WORLD

Thousands rally for changes to rape law

November 19, 2006|By Items compiled from Tribune news services.

KARACHI, PAKISTAN — Supporters of President Pervez Musharraf rallied Friday to back amendments to rape laws that drop the death penalty for extramarital sex and revise a clause on making victims produce four witnesses to prove rape cases.

More than 10,000 members of the Mutahida Qami Movement marched through Karachi, some with signs praising the bill as a "victory for women."

Pakistan's lower house of parliament approved the amendments Wednesday; Musharraf urged the Senate to approve the amendments within days. Sher Afghan, federal minister for parliamentary affairs, has said the Senate will approve the bill.

Islamists who consider the legislation contrary to Islam have vowed to block Senate passage of the bill.